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Chapter 2
Prev Chapter PART TWO Half-beard shielded his face against the blankets of dust that shot through the air as the cloaked airship descended, its outline becoming clearly visible. When it came to a stop, the colors of its reflective surface slowly darkened to a metallic blue. A hatch opened, revealing a dignified-looking man in dark glasses, shrouded in shadows. “Your reputation’s well-deserved, pirate,” the darkened figure stated matter-of-factly. “Step inside, there are things to discuss. Oh, and you can remove the tracer now, Jack.” The silent man removed a blinking chip from beneath his bandanna and swiftly crushed it between his fingers, before walking up the ramp and into the ship’s interior. Edge glanced at Half-beard, who nodded slightly. They followed. The inside of the airship covered with enormous blinking screens, displaying arrays of miscellaneous data with no discernable connection to what was going on (though Half-beard could swear he saw a bit of his personal information on one of the monitors). A youngish guy was working a control pad absent-mindedly in the corner, turning his head to size up the mercenaries who had just entered the room. “So, you’re the guys who hired Half-beard,” Edge began shakily. “Nice ship you’ve got here. Are you with the government, or what?” “You could say so,” the shaded man answered with a hint of smugness, “though you could also say we’re working above them – classified business, you know? Still, there’s no harm in introducing myself. I’m Agent DR of the United States Supercop Agency. Some call me… the Regulator.” “Okay, DR,” Half-beard growled, “maybe now you can tell us what the hell kind of a deathtrap you were sending us into. The goddamn cave collapsed the second we picked something up… we could’ve all been killed. One of us was.” DR laughed and shrugged nonchalantly. “Truth be told, Casey, I didn’t know what the caverns would hold. I only knew the road would be dangerous, and that the Temple held the prize we’ve been searching for… the Animadversionite. Speaking of which,” he added while thrusting his gloved hand out towards Edge, “I’ll be taking that now, if you don’t mind.” Edge glanced down at the green crystal in his hand and recoiled with a snarl. “Back off, Regulator. You never said anything about handing over what we found in the Temple!” “I don’t believe I’ve discussed terms with you at all, bounty hunter,” the Regulator coolly replied. “They were as follows: Half-beard was to find the Temple of Hiskor through any of his available connections, investigate its interior, and await further instructions. Those instructions have now been delivered – hand the Animadversionite to me.” Jack stepped behind DR and crossed his arms decisively as the pilot in the corner wheeled around in his chair, cracking his knuckles. Half-beard glared at Edge disbelievingly. They were clearly outnumbered… and after all they had been through, how could he even think that stupid gem is worth losing everything in this kind of pointless fight? Finally Edge shrugged, divorced from his fierce nature moments ago, muttering “suit yourself” to the party assembled around him. He painstakingly placed the gem into the outstretched gloved hand of DR, who turned around anxious to place it in a box which he promptly sealed. “So… what do you know about this Animadversionite stuff anyhow?” Half-beard asked after a brief uncomfortable silence. “Why did you need us to get it?” I know that the ancients saw the substance as… power,” he said darkly, before turning back to the mercenaries with another nonchalant shrug. “Again, I don’t really know for sure. Not yet, anyways. But that’s not important. You’ll want your pay now, I expect?” The pilot tossed them a briefcase from beside his chair and the mercenaries, after counting their money, began to head towards the door. “I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure conducting business, sir,” Half-beard called back to the shadowy agent, “but I guess I got too much of an honest streak in me.” The Regulator smiled. “That will be all, gentlemen. On behalf of the United States of America, I thank you for your services, and wish you both very fond farewells.” As the hatch swung shut behind him, Half-beard plucked a flask from his belt and took a swig. “Sucks about Rod,” he stated solemnly while smacking his lips. “Yeah, poor Rob”, Edge replied absent-mindedly, curiously rubbing the parts of his body that had been touched by the Animadversionite. He was lost in strange thoughts as he made his way back to their transport. --- “Mistake leaving them alive,” Jack darkly intoned as the hatch was sealed shut. DR rolled his eyes. “You know how I feel about murder outright, Mr. Acid,” he answered, taking a seat beside the crate holding the Animadversionite. “Besides, they’re completely irrelevant to the larger picture, and I imagine they’re fine staying that way. It’s best to avoid making even more enemies for ourselves when we can avoid it.” “I don’t know, DR, they might not be as harmless as you think,” the pilot said distractedly, flipping the switches and pulling the levers required to get their craft in the air once more. “Did you see how closely he was holding the stuff to his chest? Do we know what that kind of exposure will do to a person?” “Like I said before, I have no way of knowing,” DR replied with a grin. “But that’s precisely what I intend to find out.” --- Little did anyone expect that a member of a third party, veiled by a cloaking device of his own, was perched behind a sand dune throughout the exchange, catching every word! At least, this had been the case a moment earlier. “Damnit, I think I got lost reception on my wire, HQ,” came the muffled voice of this mysterious watchman from beneath his metallic helmet. “Did you at least get all of that?” “Affirmative,” his earpiece answered. “Confirmation of evac clearance enqued. So, comrade Bane, how do you interpret this new data?” “Well it sure sounds like the Americans dug themselves up some gold-plated uranium, doesn’t it?” the operative answered, lying down in the sand. “Whatever this strange new substance is, it’s clear that it has weapon applications. No doubt it would prove invaluable to the cause of our organization.” “The organization agrees,” replied the voice from headquarters. “It sounds as though its whereabouts will be kept under the tightest wraps the Americans have at their disposal, however… and truth be told, the WPN has never undertaken a mission of this sort. Do you believe you are capable of retrieving the whereabouts of this weapon, comrade?” “Capable… are you kidding?” said the spy, watching the blur of his enemy’s invisible aircraft streaking through the sky. “I’m the goddamned Gigabane.” Next Chapter